SEATTLE -
Seattle prep legend Norris Frederick claimed the 2005 world lead in the long jump Saturday at Dempsey Indoor, clearing 25 feet, 4 1/2 inches in his collegiate debut at the UW Indoor Preview. Frederick was one of four Husky athletes to achieve NCAA qualifying marks at the meet, and one of seven to post marks among UW's top-10 all-time.

Competing for the first time in a Washington uniform, the freshman from Seattle's Roosevelt High School posted three jumps longer than 24 feet, achieving the world-leader on the final attempt of the competition. The 25-foot, 4 1/2-inch effort was more than a foot beyond UW's indoor freshman record and was a six-inch personal best for Frederick, who in 2004 became the first state prep ever to long jump 24 feet and high jump seven feet in the same season.

"It was cool," Frederick said of his UW debut, which also included a victory in the high jump, the event in which he led all U.S. preps in 2004. "My goal is to make the NCAA Championships, and this was a good start."

U.S. Olympian Adam Goucher joined Frederick atop the 2005 IAAF World Rankings, clocking a facility-record time of 13:43.47 in the 5,000 meters to defeat 2003 U.S. steeplechase champion Steve Slattery and former facility record holder Mike Donnelly in the day's featured event on the track.

While the 5,000 meters had much of the meet's star power, Husky sophomore Ashley Lodree made sure the spotlight stayed on Washington, winning both the 60-meter hurdles and 200-meter dashes in impressive fashion. The Huskies' school-record holder in the hurdles began her quest for a return trip to the NCAA Championships with a provisional-qualifying 8.39-second mark in the event, before finishing her day with a winning time of 24.89 seconds in the 200 meters t hat was good for fourth on UW's all-time indoor list.

Three-time UW All-American Kate Soma, the defending Pac-10 pole vault champion and 2004 NCAA runner-up, started her senior season off with a win as well, her NCAA provisional-qualifying clearance of 13-3 3/4 second-best in UW history only to her own record of 13-5 3/4 set late last year.

"I'm really excited about how our young folks performed today," said third-year head coach Greg Metcalf, who has guided both of UW's men's and women's teams to top-25 NCAA finishes in his first two years as coach. "You're never sure what's going to happen the first time you put a uniform on them and send them out there, but they were more than ready."

While most of the Washington team will take next week off from competition, the Huskies' pole vaulters travel to Reno, Nev., for the National Pole Vault Summit, featuring the top vaulters of all ages from across the United States. The full Husky squad returns to competition Jan. 29 for the Husky Invitational at Dempsey Indoor.